Yes, that actually was Anthony Calvillo grimacing during last week’s Montreal disaster against Winnipeg. Will it happen again tonight? (CFL)

We start this week with a question: If the league has yet to send anyone in the media a hard copy of its media guide and record book and its week 3, has the season really started? You’ll ask that question again once you dive into this week’s attempt at prognostication perfection:

THURSDAY

Saskatchewan at Toronto 4:30 p.m.

Here’s how you know just how well things are going in Regina these days: The Riders have stopped worrying about who is tweeting in practice and have let their fans back into Mosiac Stadium on weekdays.

George Cortez’s offence is humming. Darian Durant is in fourth gear. Chris Getzlaf has returned to form. Kory Sheets will weigh 100 pounds if the Riders keep giving him the ball. Sheets had 26 carries last week against Calgary, the most by a Saskatchewan back in 14 years, and has back-to-back 100-yard games along the ground. Geroy Simon hasn’t played yet, and wont again tonight.

The game will feature the return of Ricky Foley to Toronto (Side note: Didn’t he leave B.C. because he wanted to play closer to home? Never mind) Ricky Ray threw four TDs the last time the teams met in Toronto. But the Riders are on a roll. Province pick: Riders

FRIDAY

Calgary at Montreal, 4:30 p.m.

It was an interesting week in Montreal in the wake of the pounding taken by Anthony Calvillo against Winnipeg where the legendary thrower actually sounded frustrated for the first time in his career, then began owning the mistakes made by his offence.

The Als had just 136 yards offence against Winnipeg and in two games Calvillo has been sacked 11 times but at least said it was his fault. New coach Dan Hawkins, meantime, has begun to spar with Als beat regulars like the Montreal Gazette’s Herb Zurkowsky, the dean of CFL scribes. It is not wise to mess with our friend Herb. This cannot end well.

Jerome Messam may return for Montreal but Drew Tate (arm) will not. However it’s a possible repeat scenario of last year for the Stamps, who started Kevin Glenn at this point last year when Tate went down. All Glenn did was lead Calgary, which signed ex-Riders WR Greg Carr this week, to a Grey Cup appearance. Province pick: Stamps.

SATURDAY

Winnipeg at Hamilton, 3:30 p.m.

It’s never a good thing when your owner has to start writing to fans about the lackluster play of your team, which was what Ticats caretaker Bob Young was compelled to do after Hamilton delivered a stinker in a monsoon during their home regular season opener in Guelph, Ont., against Edmonton.

“This year’s Ticats too good a team to play that badly. Very disappointing for loyal and very soaked fans to witness,” Young wrote. He left out the scribes in his apology. More on that later.

Nonetheless, it shouldn’t be that big of a surprise if you’re without injured Andy Fantuz and your star returner, Lindsey Lamar, coughed up the ball four times on returns. No team can be that bad, can they? With key players like Terrence Edwards, and Bryant Turner out, Hamilton has a chance to stop a 1-6 run against Winnipeg. But they won’t. Province pick: Bombers

B.C. at Edmonton, 6:30 p.m.

Hamilton’s Young was apologetic to fans but didn’t think to thank the poor beat guys who had to try to operate in the makeshift press box. The Edmonton Journal’s Chris O’Leary somehow managed to do his job while in a virtual submarine, filing this report on his blog. I know, nobody cares.

In an odd bit of timing the night before a road game, Kavis Reed was given a vote of confidence in the form of a contract extension, then the Eskimos delivered for their coach. There’ll be more believers with a win Saturday, though in theory if the Lions defence can repeat their Toronto performance and finish a few more drives, the result should not be in doubt. Province pick: B.C.

Last week: 3-1 Season record: 5-3

Programming note: This week’s legendary Lions live chat is set to go at 4 p.m. Saturday. Get ready for the first of two against the Eskimos by bringing your thoughts and questions to theprovince.com/sports

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the “X” in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.